Extended (EV)

SSL Certificates

On 6th August 2014, Google announced that they would be giving a higher weight to websites secured with appropriately issued 2048-bit SSL certification. Whilst initially suggesting only a modest increase in "ranking signal", it was also suggested that additional weight may be added in the future - presumably increasing the positive impact of SSL secured websites on search results.

SSL secured traffic has many benefits, not least giving your customers confidence in a professionally administered website which takes security seriously. However, this announcement has fired a starting gun in a race towards universal adoption of SSL secured website traffic, and we would suggest that you consider the potential benefits of SSL for your website.

Improve Search Ranking

Universal adoption of SSL is beginning. Don't get left behind. With Google indicating that websites secured with appropriately issued 2048-bit SSL certificates would achieve a higher "ranking signal" in search returns, it is recommended that the adoption of SSL should become a part of your overall SEO strategy.

Strong Encryption

Industry standard cyphers and encryption. Certificates issued from our Certificate Authorities are all 2048-bit SSL with 128/256-bit encryption, which means they meet industry standards established by Certification Authority/Browser (CA/B) Forum and which came into force on 31st December 2013.

Flexible Validation Options

Choose a validation level suitable for your website. As the level of validation increases, so does the burden of proof & together with the time taken to issue the certificate. And the price. You choose what validation you require.

CA Warranty

A 3rd-party warranty acts as an insurance covering any damage resulting from a flaw in the SSL Certificate. The warranty is provided by the issuing Certificate Authority (CA) and NOT Unlimited Web Hosting UK Limited. Please see more information on the warranty here.

Why use SSL Certificates?

We offer four tiers of competitively priced SSL Certificates, so you can choose the certificate that matches your needs best.

Back in 2014 Google announced that they would be favouring sites that are secured with a properly configured SSL certificate. While at the time the increase in google ranking for SSL secure sites was small, there is evidence that over time secured sites receive better search result rankings then unsecured sites.

Securing your site with an SSL certificate improves customer confidence. Your potential customer may not know the details of how SSL makes your site safer, but they will know that the little padlock icon at the top of the screen is a good thing!

The certificates that we offer all use industry standard strong encryption. They are all 2048-bit with 128/256-bit encryption, giving you and your customers peace of mind.

Questions? Talk to our security experts...

Standard SSL

Domain Control Validation (DCV) is required for this SSL certificate to be issued.

This involves confirming that you have appropriate access to the domain by verifying a challenge/response against one of the following:

Clicking a link sent by e-mail to an address on the domain, e.g. admin@yourdomain.org

Placing a hash of the certificate .csr as a DNS CNAME record in the zone for the domain.

Placing a hash of the certificate .csr on the root of the domain webserver so it can be accessed by http.

Failure to validation against one of these methods will cause either significant delays in issuing the certificate, or for the certificate not to be issued.

Additionally, the requirements for validation may change from time to time at the digression of the issuing Certificate Authority.

Wildcard SSL

Domain Control Validation (DCV) is required for this SSL certificate to be issued.

This involves confirming that you have appropriate access to the domain by verifying a challenge/response against one of the following:

Clicking a link sent by e-mail to an address on the domain, e.g. admin@yourdomain.org

Placing a hash of the certificate .csr as a DNS CNAME record in the zone for the domain.

Placing a hash of the certificate .csr on the root of the domain webserver so it can be accessed by http.

Failure to validation against one of these methods will cause either significant delays in issuing the certificate, or for the certificate not to be issued.

Additionally, the requirements for validation may change from time to time at the digression of the issuing Certificate Authority.

Organisation SSL

In order for this SSL certificate to be issued, the following must be verified:

Identity and address - typically by a government agency in the jurisdiction of the Applicants legal creation, existence, or recognition. For example, Companies House in the UK.

The WHOIS domain record should have the Applicants company name and address.

Domain Control Validation (DCV) to determine the Applicant has appropriate access to the domain by verifying a challenge/response. For example, an e-mail sent to a domain address.

Callback to a verified telephone number. The telephone number must be found in either a government database, or recognised third party database. For example, Yellow Pages in the UK.

Failure to validation against one of these methods will cause either significant delays in issuing the certificate, or for the certificate not to be issued.

Additionally, the requirements for validation may change from time to time at the digression of the issuing Certificate Authority.

Extended (EV) SSL

In order for this SSL certificate to be issued, the following must be verified:

Identity and address via government agency in the jurisdiction of the Applicants legal creation, existence, or recognition. For example, Companies House in the UK.

Trade/assumed name - only applicable if the company does business under a name which is different from their official name.

The WHOIS domain record should have the Applicants company name and address.

Operational existence - by confirming physical address and telephone number. The telephone number must be found in either a government database, or recognised third party database, for example Yellow Pages in the UK. The physical address associated with the telephone number must match the registered address of the Applicant.

Callback to the verified telephone number above.

Failure to validation against one of these methods will cause either significant delays in issuing the certificate, or for the certificate not to be issued.

Additionally, the requirements for validation may change from time to time at the digression of the issuing Certificate Authority.

2048 Bit Industry Standard

Certificates issued from our Certificate Authorities are all 2048-bit SSL with 128/256-bit encryption, which means they meet industry standards established by Certification Authority/Browser (CA/B) Forum and which came into force on 31st December 2013.

128/256 Bit Encryption

Certificates issued from our Certificate Authorities are all 2048-bit SSL with 128/256-bit encryption, which means they meet industry standards established by Certification Authority/Browser (CA/B) Forum and which came into force on 31st December 2013.

Warranty Information

The warranty which applies to an SSL Certificate can be misinterpreted.

The warranty exists between the SSL Certificate Certification Authority (CA), via a third-party insurance scheme, which issues the SSL Certificate and the end users who use the website secured by the SSL Certificate. The warranty does not apply to the purchaser of the certificate.

In many ways, the value of the warranty offered for a SSL Certificate can be loosely interpreted as the "confidence level" that the CA has in the validity of the information contained in the SSL Certificate, hence why Extended EV certificates carry the largest warranty and domain validated the smallest.

Please also note that any warranty offered by the SSL Certificate Certification Authority as part of the SSL Certificate shall be the sole responsibility of the said SSL Certificate Certification Authority and shall not be interpreted as a warranty offered by Unlimited Web Hosting UK Limited.